Qaeda claim Iraq suicide attacks

BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq claimed responsibility for two recent suicide attacks that killed 37 people, in an Internet posting seen on Tuesday.

A blast on July 5 in the city of Taji north of Baghdad killed 35 people and wounded 28, and a June 26 explosion by a bomber in a wheelchair killed two people and injured 17 at a police station in a nearby town.

"This brother who wore a suicide belt and rode a wheelchair blew himself up."

"The second attack (in Taji) targeted a filthy meeting including security officials and local city council officials."

June saw the highest monthly death toll for Iraqis so far this year, while the 14 US soldiers killed last month was the highest such figure in three years.

Baghdad has blamed Al-Qaeda for the increased death toll for Iraqis, which was up 34 percent on May, while the US military holds Iranian-backed Shiite militias responsible for the deadly attacks on its troops.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011